Tarp removal reveals revamped arena

Shown here on April 9, the construction tarp has been removed from the west end of the Erie Insurance Arena, showing off the new stadium seating that is under construction. The $47 million renovation and expansion project of the arena is on schedule and will add 2,000 seats and 13 luxury suites to the arena. Erie County Convention Center Authority officials expect project completion by Oct. 2013.CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/Erie Times-News

The tarp is gone -- another sign that the $47 million renovation of Tullio Arena is a step closer to completion.

Work crews have removed the 240-foot-wide, 47-foot-high vinyl tarp from the arena's west end. The arena's new concrete stadium seating, still under construction, is now clearly visible inside the venue.

The tarp had been in place since the arena reopened for the Erie Otters' first home hockey game, against the Brampton Battallion, on Oct. 5.

The arena remained open for Erie Otters hockey and Erie BayHawks basketball games while the work took place. The BayHawks' season ended Saturday night.

"The entire facade there, the window walls, doors, etc., is all in place now and the building is enclosed," said Casey Wells, the authority's executive director. "I don't need the tarp to control dust or keep the building environment hot or cold anymore... the tarp is no longer needed to help protect patrons from the weather either."

This multiphased arena project kicked off in December 2011 and ramped up when the facility closed in early May.

Work that has taken place inside and outside of the arena since then, largely on the north and south sides, includes the installation of new restrooms and concessions areas; locker room renovations; the widening of concourses and expansion of the arena's lobby; and demolition of the arena's former 227-space, two-level parking deck at East Ninth and French streets.

The revamped west end is now bowl shaped, with a new entrance and exit. Work that still must be finished includes the addition of 2,000 new seats and 13 luxury suites at the arena's upper levels.

The project is expected to be finished sometime in October.

The renovations at the former Tullio Arena, aided by millions in state and county funding, are aimed at creating a multiuse entertainment complex, expanding and improving interior space, and creating a parklike atmosphere outside the front of the arena, which will be known as "Tullio Plaza."